Universal bell housing and deflector plate

ABSTRACT

A deflector plate and bell housing are disclosed which permit the use of this assembly on vehicles with many different starter motor positions and sizes and which provide access to the enclosed clutch and flywheel without removal of the entire bell housing. The latter is formed by bolting together two segments with the lower segment (when in position on a vehicle) being removeable. The deflector plate is provided with an enlarged aperture to accommodate variously positioned starter motor housings. An adapter is attachable to the deflector plate to reduce and vary the shape of this aperture so that each starter motor gear meshes positively with the flywheel.

United States Patent [191 Johnson Nov. 20, 1973 NIV R BELL HOUSING AND Primary Examiner-Charles J. Myhre DEFLECTOR PLATE Assistant Examiner-F. D. Shoemaker [75 Inventor: Robert E. Johnson, Los Angeles, Atwmey Donald Nlst et Calif. [73 Assignee: Whittaker Corporation, Los [57] ABSTRACT Angeles Cahf' A deflector plate and bell housing are disclosed which [22] Filed: Nov. 6, 1972 permit the use of this assembly on vehicles with many different starter motor positions and sizes and which [21] Appl' 303802 provide access to the enclosed clutch and flywheel without removal of the entire bell housing. The latter [52] US. Cl. 74/606 R, 123/195 A is formed by bolting together two segments with the [51] Int. Cl. F16h 57/02 lower segment (when in position on a vehicle) being [58] Field of Search 74/606 R, 608, 609; removeable. The deflector plate is provided with an 2 179 5 19 C; 19 11 enlarged aperture to accommodate variously positioned starter motor housings. An adapter is attach- [56] References Cited able to the deflector plate to reduce and vary the UNITED A S T S shape of this aperture so that each starter motor gear 2,974,538 3/1961 Jennings 74/606 R x meshes Pmmvely the flywheel- 3,696,689 10/1972 Senter et al 74/609 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures UNIVERSAL BELL HOUSING AND DEFLECTOR PLATE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to housings for rotary members and, more specifically, to bell housings for vehicle clutches and flywheels.

Because vehicles such as automobiles are made by many manufacturers, each of whom is constantly changing its own designs from year-to-year, these vehicles and thus their constituent components are usually not standardized. A particular example of such non-standardization is starting motors. The latter vary in both size and location from model to model and even from year-to-year on the same models. Because of such variations, deflector plates and bell housings have usually been made to accommodate a single starter motor so that there would be a different bell housing and deflector plate assembly for each vehicle model having a different starter motor location or size. This meant that a wholesaler or dealer had to maintain a large inventory of these housing units since he would have to have on hand a minimum number of units for each unique model. Additionally, a manufacturer of such components would have to make the necessary casting or forging and machining changes. Both the large inventory and machining changes are quite costly.

Attempts have been made to manufacture deflector plate and bell housing units which could be used for more than one starter motor location or size. One method, in effect, removed a comer of the deflector plate defining the starter motor aperture and positioned the latter eccentrically in this deflector plate section so that by reversing this section, the starter motor aperturewould be moved inwardly or outwardly with respect to the center of the deflector plate. This deflector plate section is bolted to the deflector plate to provide the desired starter motor aperture location. This technique has the disadvantages of accommodating only two starter motor locations and of re quiring the use of a two-piece deflector plate thereby providing a weaker structure as compared to a onepiece plate.

Another alternative has been to provide a deflector plate with an aperture to accommodate a particular starter motor and then to partially cut through a portion of the deflector plate adjacent to this aperture so that, if a particular second starter motor was to be accommodated by this unit, the portion of the deflector plate could be hammered out to thereby enlarge the starter motor aperture. The disadvantage of this technique, in addition to accommodating only two different starter motors, is that it leaves a weakened section in the deflector plate in one application.

Another problem that occurs with bell housings is the problem of providing accessability to the clutch and flywheel without having to remove the entire housing assembly, while also providing a strong housing capable of retaining its integrity even when the clutch and/or flywheel break. Heretofore, two-piece bell housings have been made with approximately the lower third of the housing separable from the remainder of the unit by the removal of bolts extending through horizontal mating flanges. Although providing ready access to the clutch and flywheel, this assembly was often not capable of withstanding the impact of broken clutch and flywheel fragments unless made of overly thick metal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is embodied in a clutch/flywheel housing assembly which includes a deflector plate and bell housing. The deflector plate is provided with an aperture sized to receive variously positioned and sized starter motor housings and the bell housing is provided with a well to receive the same starter motor housings. Additionally, a bolt-on, arcuate adapter is provided which can be variously positioned with respect to the starter motor aperture in the deflector plate to provide the necessary bearing pressure to provide positive mating between the flywheel and the starter motor gear.

One advantage of the use of the aforementioned adapter is that it permits use of the deflector plate with a plurality (five at present) of starter motor housings which would otherwise each require a separate deflector plate. This means inventories can be correspondingly reduced with attendant savings. These results are obtained without reducing the strength of the deflector plate and with easily made adjustments.

from exploding clutch and flywheel components while providing for adequate access to the interior of the housing assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the deflector plate and bell housing assembly of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the deflector plate showing an adapter positioned to reduce the starter motor aperture in size.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the adapter shown in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As used herein, terms upper," lower and vertical relate to the herein-described housing assembly when in use on a vehicle.

Referring to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 designates a housing assembly which is of sufficient size and shape to accommodate a flywheel and clutch assembly (not shown). The housing assembly 10 includes a deflector plate 12 and a bell housing 14. The latter is essentially of standard shape and opens forwardly when in use on a vehicle. The bell housing 14 comprises a bell section 16 and a peripheral flange 18 extending around the bell section at its open end. The bell section 16 defines a generally, centrally disposed aperture 20 sized to receive a drive shaft and a side cutout 22 sized to permit extension therethrough of the clutch linkage. A portion 24 of the bell housing 14 defines a well which opens forwardly and which is sized to accommodate variously located starter motor housings.

Thebell housing 14 is a two-piece housing formed by the joinder of an upper fixed section 26 and a lower, removeable section 28. The latter is of arcuate shape and is provided with a peripheral flange 30 which comprises front 32 and rear 34 vertical segments and side segments 36. The lower edge of the upper fixed section 26 is similarly defined by a continuous flange 38 which comprises side 40 and vertically depending 42 segments corresponding to side and rear segments 36,34, respectively, of the lower removeable bell housing section 28 so that the flanges 38,30 on the upper' and lower bell housing sections 26,28, respectively, mate with each other when these sections are brought together to form the bell housing 10. J oinder of these flanges 38,30 may be made by extending bolts 44 through aligned pairs of holes 46,48 in the upper section and lower section flanges 30,38, respectively. After joinder of the fixed and removeable bell housing sections 26,28, the front flange section 32 of the removeable section 28 remains free for attachment to the deflector plate 12 and forms a part of the peripheral flange 18 of the bell housing 10.

The deflector plate 12 has substantially the same cross-sectional shape and size as the bell housing 14 and is provided with a plurality of peripheral holes 50 spaced about the periphery of the deflector plate for alignment with similarly placed holes 52 in the peripheral flange 18 of the bell housing 14. The deflector plate 12 defines a generally centered aperture 54 sized to receive a crankshaft and also defines another aperture 56 sized to receive variously positioned starter motor housings and aligned with the starter motor well in the bell housing 14.

Since the starter motor housing aperture 56 in the deflector plate 12 is large enough to accommodate variously positioned starter motor housings, in most cases the deflector plate 12 would not provide the requisite pressure on the starter motor housing to ensure positive meshing between the flywheel teeth and the starter motor gear. Therefore, to provide such pressure to ensure positive meshing, an arcuate adapter 58 is provided to partially fill the starter motor housing aperture 56 to thereby reduce its size and sometimes alter its shape.

The adapter 58 is preferably provided with an arcuate shoulder 60 which extends between surfaces 62,64 as shown in FIG. 3. When the adapter 58 is positioned in the deflector plate aperture 56, the shoulder 60 preferably registers or abuts against a portion of the surface of the deflector plate 12 which defines the starter motor housing aperture 56 and the adapter surface 64 rests against a rear face 66 of the deflector plate. In this way, the adapter 58, in effect, becomes a removeable extension of the deflector plate 12 into the starter motor housing aperture 56 to thereby provide a strong bearing surface against which a starter motor housing can abut. A plurality of holes 68 are provided in the adapter 58 for attachment to the deflector plate 12. Attachment is accomplished by extending bolts 70 through the adapter holes 68 and through the appropriate aligned holes 72 in the deflector plate 12. The adapter 58 may then be locked in position by threading nuts (not shown) onto the bolts 70. The positions of the holes 72 in the deflector plate 12 are selected so that, when the adapter 58 is positioned against the deflector plate for a particular application, the inner-facing surface 74 of the adapter bears against the starting motor housing to provide the aforementioned positive meshing between flywheel and starter motor.

The deflector plate 12 and bell housing 14 are installed on a vehicle as described in US. Pat. No. 3,696,689, issued Oct. 10, 1972, entitled Safety Housing," which description is incorporated herein by reference. After the housing assembly 10 is installed, it may become necessary to adjust or remove the clutch and- /or flywheel. This can be readily accomplished by removing the bolts 44 which interconnect the mating flanges 38 and 30 and by removing bolts (not shown) which interconnect the front flange section 32 of the removeable section 28 of the bell housing 14 with the deflector plate 12. The removeable section 28 then is free to drop down from the bell housing 14 to expose the enclosed components. The deflector plate 12 and upper section 26 of the bell housing 14 remain fixed in their installed position.

The herein-described housing assembly 10 may be made from a variety of metals with different metal thicknesses. However, it is presently preferred to employ the metals described in said US. Pat. No. 3,696,689.

I claim:

1. A vehicle housing for a clutch and flywheel assembly, comprising:

a bell housing sized to accommodate said clutch and flywheel assembly and having an annular peripheral flange and defining both a generally centered aperture to accommodate a drive shaft and a well sized to accommodate a plurality of starter motor housings, said bell housing comprising an upper, larger section and a lower, smaller, removeable section to provide an opening in the bottom of said bell housing of sufficient size to permit removal of said clutch and flywheel assembly when said removeable section is separated from said upper section, said lower section having a peripheral flange comprising vertical front and rear flange sections and a pair of side flange sections with said vertical front flange section forming a portion of said annular peripheral flange, said upper section having bottom-defining flange sections matable with said rear and side flange sections of said removeable bell housing section;

first attachment means for interconnecting said mating flange sections of said upper and lower bell housing sections;

a deflector plate of substantially the same crosssectional size and shape as said bell housing for mating therewith, said deflector plate defining a generally central aperture to accommodate a crankshaft and defining an off-center aperture aligned with said well in said bell housing when said deflector plate is mated therewith and sized to accommodate a plurality of starter motor housings;

arcuate adapter means partially insertable into said starter motor housing aperture in said deflector plate to vary the size of said aperture so that a starter motor housing extending through said aperture bears against said adapter means to produce a positive mesh between said flywheel and said starter motor;

second attachment means for attaching said adapter means to said deflector plate to provide said positive mesh between said flywheel and a plurality of variously positioned starter motor housings; and

third attachment means for interconnecting said peripheral flange of said bell housing to said deflector plate.

2. The vehiclehousing of claim 1 in which said adapter means defines an arcuate shoulder for abutment with the surface of said deflector plate defining said starter motor housing aperture.

3. A bell housing sized to accommodate a clutch and flywheel assembly and having an annular peripheral flange and defining both a generally centered aperture to accommodate a drive shaft and a well sized to accommodate starter motor housings, said bell housing comprising an upper, fixed section and a lower, removeable section to provide an opening in the bottom of said bell housing of sufficient size to permit removal of said clutch and flywheel assembly when said removeable section is separated from said upper section, said lower section having a peripheral flange comprising vertical front and rear flange sections and a pair of generally horizontal side flange sections with said vertical front flange section forming a portion of said annular peripheral flange, said upper section having bottom-defining flange sections matable with said rear and side flange sections of said removeable bell housing section.

4. A deflector plate assembly for use in combination with a bell housing, comprising:

a deflector plate of substantially the same crosssectional size and shape as said bell housing for mating therewith, said deflector plate defining a generally central aperture to accommodate .a crankshaft and defining an off-center aperture sized to accommodate a plurality of starter motor housings;

arcuate adapter means partially insertable into said starter motor housing aperture in said deflector plate to vary the size of said aperture so that a starter motor housing extending through said aperture bears against said adapter means to produce a positive mesh between said fly-wheel and said starter motor; and

attachment means for attaching said adapter means to said deflector plate to provide said positive mesh between said flywheel and a plurality of variously positioned starter motor housings.

5. The assembly of claim 4 in which said adapter means defines an arcuate shoulder for abutment with the surface of said deflector plate defining said starter motor housing aperture. 

1. A vehicle housing for a clutch and flywheel assembly, comprising: a bell housing sized to accommodate said clutch and flywheel assembly and having an annular peripheral flange and defining both a generally centered aperture to accommodate a drive shaft and a well sized to accommodate a plurality of starter motor housings, said bell housing comprising an upper, larger section and a lower, smaller, removeable section to provide an opening in the bottom of said bell housing of sufficient size to permit removal of said clutch and flywheel assembly when said removeable section is separated from said upper section, said lower section having a peripheral flange comprising vertical front and rear flange sections and a pair of side flange sections with said vertical front flange section forming a portion of said annular peripheral flange, said upper section having bottom-defining flange sections matable with said rear and side flange sections of said removeable bell housing section; first attachment means for interconnecting said mating flange sections of said upper and lower bell housing sections; a deflector plate of substantially the same cross-sectional size and shape as said bell housing for mating therewith, said deflector plate defining a generally central aperture to accommodate a crankshaft and defining an off-center aperture aligned with said well in said bell housing when said deflector plate is mated therewith and sized to accommodate a plurality of starter motor housings; arcuate adapter means partially insertable into said starter motor housing aperture in said deflector plate to vary the size of said aperture so that a starter motor housing extending through said aperture bears against said adapter means to produce a positive mesh between said flywheel and said starter motor; second attachment means for attaching said adapter means to said deflector plate to provide said positive mesh between said flywheel and a plurality of variously positioned starter motor housings; and third attachment means for interconnecting said peripheral flange of said bell housing to said deflector plate.
 2. The vehicle housing of claim 1 in which said adapter means defines an arcuate shoulder for abutment with the surface of said deflector plate defining said starter motor housing aperture.
 3. A bell housing sized to accommodate a clutch and flywheel assembly and having an annular peripheral flange and defining both a generally centered aperture to accommodate a drive shaft and a well sized to accommodate starter motor housings, said bell housing comprising an upper, fixed section and a lower, removeable section to provide an opening in the bottom of said bell housing of sufficient size to permit removal of said clutch and flywheel assembly when said removeable section is separated from said upper section, said lower section having a peripheral flange comprising vertical front and rear flange sections and a pair of generally horizontal side flange sections with said vertical front flange section forming a portion of said annular peripheral flange, said upper section having bottom-defining flange sections matable with said rear and side flange sections of said removeable bell housing section.
 4. A deflector plate assembly for use in combination with a bell housing, comprising: a deflector plate of substantially the same cross-sectional size and shape as said bell housing for mating therewith, said deflector plate defining a generally central aperture to accommodate a crankshaft and defining an off-center aperture sized to accommodate a plurality of starter motor housings; arcuate adapter means partially insertable into said starter motor housing aperture in said deflector plate to vary the size of said aperture so that a starter motor housing extending through said aperture bears against said adapter means to produce a positive mesh between said fly-wheel and said starter motor; and attachmEnt means for attaching said adapter means to said deflector plate to provide said positive mesh between said flywheel and a plurality of variously positioned starter motor housings.
 5. The assembly of claim 4 in which said adapter means defines an arcuate shoulder for abutment with the surface of said deflector plate defining said starter motor housing aperture. 